This trip started like most others; scouting some rock over and over again until the stars and partners aligned for a trip.

After so much time caving in and around marble, I learned to not trust it and had no interest in climbing it. But, I'd looked at this big dumb rock near Boyden Cavern too many times and had to give it a shot as it was more solid than many other areas. After all, it met all of my criteria for a climbing objective:
1. Big
2. I looked at it

Credit: limpingcrab

Credit: limpingcrab

Credit: limpingcrab

Vitaliy, Macronut and I met up at dark o'clock in the morning for our (sort of) annual October birthday extravaganza. The descent and crossing were uneventful as I'd already scouted it a few times. We seemed to be on the same page, with no sign of what they had planned for me.

Credit: limpingcrab

Credit: limpingcrab

Credit: limpingcrab

The approach gully was interesting and not too difficult. As we neared the cliff I was discussing route options but Vitaliy and Macronut kept bringing up places to hide a body should the need arise. I was naive and thought nothing of it.

Credit: limpingcrab

Credit: limpingcrab

No sooner than I took my pack off at the base, Vitaliy launched up onto the dark and foreboding wall, almost as if he'd been here before.

Credit: Vitaliy M

Macronut and I soon followed the surprisingly fun and harder than expected first pitch. As I arrived at the anchor they both, almost in unison, said, "this pitch is for YOU, Daniel."

My memory is foggy now, but I'm pretty sure they winked at each other with a subtle grin as I racked up.

Credit: limpingcrab

Credit: Vitaliy M

I began slowly, unsure of the rock quality and paranoid about knocking a rock onto the rope or my belayers.

Move by move, the rock was getting better, the climbing more fun, and my confidence more secure.

I placed a bolt above a short overhang, made a few moves and then placed a perfect #3 camalot. Having passed the bulge and entered easier terrain I reached down to back-clean the number three and save it for a beautiful crack that had just come into view.

Two moves later I pasted my feet onto small, but positive and solid, holds that lead towards a small ledge. I then reached up to knock on a block that seemed solid enough. As I transferred my weight onto my left foot and and reach across to the left with might right hand to gently press down (not out) on the block it popped loose.

My feet blew and as I began to fall (and say words I'm not proud of) my reflex was to reach up and push the block back into its seat, which caused me to slide down in a fully extended position with my arms straight up, my feet straight down, and the slab racing by inches in front of my nose.

Credit: limpingcrab

It was in this position that I slid from near that upper bush, over the bulge, and free fell straight onto the small stance near the lower bush. 12-15 feet to impact, about 20 feet total before stopping. Only the balls of my feet hit the rock, forcing my toes towards my shins, and compressing my foot bones into my calcaneus (heel bone) hard enough to break the top of the calcaneus off in each foot.

Edit:

Credit: limpingcrab

The flexor hallucis longus tendon strained so hard that the sustentaculum tali cracked in one foot and shattered in the other.

Credit: limpingcrab

I hung there, and to this day I swear I can't figure out how Vitaliy and Macronut planned such an elaborate trap. They cheered when my fall stopped, either because that's what we do after good falls or because they thought their plan worked and I was a goner. It wasn't until they heard me growling (like that noise you make when you're trying really hard to poop) that they realized I was alive and in pain.

"I hit my feet pretty hard, guys" I called down to them.

"Just hang there for a while, take your time, and see if the pain dies down." Vitaliy suggested.

Credit: limpingcrab

So I did, but it didn't take long to notice both of my shoes getting tight and painful. I untied my shoes and tested my feet against the rock. Sharp pain shot through the tops of my feet and a strange bulging feeling pressed out from inside my ankles.

It hurt. A lot.

Accepting that I had survived the trap, Vitaliy and Macronut lowered me to the anchors and set up a double rope rappel to the ground. No doubt discussing plan B as I slid down the sharp, textured rock without letting my feet touch the wall.

Credit: Vitaliy M

Once we all reached the ground we discussed the options.

1. Press the SOS button on my emergency beacon. The only way a team was getting me from that spot was with a short haul helicopter pick. I didn't have life threatening injuries and in a windy, cliff-filled canyon a helicopter rescue was risky for a lot of people. Vitaliy and Adam thought this might be a good idea, no doubt hoping a wind gust would finish the job they had started.

2. Start scooting and crawling. I had to at least try so I taped up my hands and got scooting (there might have also been some pride involved in choosing this option).

Credit: limpingcrab

And scooting...

Credit: Macronut

And scooting...

Credit: Vitaliy M

Meanwhile, my assassins, I mean climbing partners, gathered up all of my gear and started hiking out to sell it on Craigslist or MountainProject. At certain points they had to rappel and I would catch up and rap their lines before they could cut them.

Credit: Vitaliy M

At the river crossing, through excruciating pain, I lunged forward, grabbed onto their shoulders, and was drug across the river before they knew what happened.

Credit: Vitaliy M

Credit: Vitaliy M

Once we hit the far bank the race was on. I needed to reach the car to get help, and they needed to finish the job by knocking rocks onto me. The antler I had been using for self arrest going down the steep gully had become my ice tool for ascending the steep, grassy hill.

[Click to View YouTube Video]
Here is actual footage of me gritting my teeth and going maximum speed up the final stretch of the six hour race.

Credit: Vitaliy M

Macronut and Vitaliy gave it everything they had to pass me and prevent this story from ever seeing the light of day.

Credit: limpingcrab

Alas, I drove myself down the mountain and my wife took me to the hospital in Fresno, where my brother works, for some VIP treatment. Although, seeing this picture now, she looks a little too happy about my bilateral calcaneal fractures. Maybe she was the shot caller all along...

Postscript
In reality, Vitaliy and Macronut (Adam) were unbelievably helpful the entire way. They had great attitudes and supported my six hour crawl in any way they could, even though I basically ruined our weekend. A huge thanks to those guys because I would not have made it through one of the most physically painful days of my life without them. They carried me through the river, set ropes on the difficult sections, and fed me gummy worms each time I needed a break. Great partners to have in a pinch.

Credit: limpingcrab

Credit: limpingcrab

Credit: Mrs. Limpingcrab

I also owe a lot of gratitude to my family and friends. My wife, who's life just got much more difficult with a crippled husband, basically went out and made our house ADA compliant. A neighbor built a wheelchair ramp in our living room, and dozens of people have offered help in many different ways. As soon as I start thinking of myself as a pretty independent person, something happens to make me appreciate all the awesome people around me.

Thanks for reading, and if you get the time please write some trip reports of your own. I have a lot of time to kill for the next two months :)

Wow, great work on the self/team rescue!
Sorry about the broken heels - that has got to be pretty bad pain.
Hopefully they will heal well and you'll be back to walking and enjoying mobility again.
That darn loose rock on FAs is always a risk.
Good thing it didn't cut your rope or hit your partners!

What did you expect, sir? Did you look through the wrong end of yer spotting scope at that heap? And how could you be so churlish as to begrudge yer good friendsí kindly efforts at burnishing yer legacy, not to mention honoring yer handle? A speedy recovery to you nevertheless.

it is a good thing those phooks messed up, lucky miss too.
you won't give them a chance again till your next birthday.
Then you will have fair warning and can make them lead.
remember your cross-bow, though, 'cause they might try and strand you at the anchors.
In which case a maiming shot to the thigh is what is recommend to slow their roll
and make them dependent on you.. . If there is a next time.

Seriously, your in the hands, as you know!
Blessing like the antler show
& we are all pulling for you
Sorry that they didn't pull you out,
but that skid-litter thing?
two logs a woven rope bed(the hard part)
would have ruined a rope at least.

Thanks all, it's surprising how many similar stories you hear after an injury.

so, has the poison oak manifested yet?

bTW, is that a close-up of poison oak?

Ya it was poison oak. Had to crawl through some of it even though V and Adam knocked most of it down. Waiting to see if I break out inside the casts. If so I might go crazy.

Did I miss the deadpan, or did you really drive yourself back?

Ya, they offered rides but I didn't want someone to have to come get my car and figured driving would hurt less than the hike out. I live at the bottom of the hill so I just drove REALLY slow and used gears to slow down. If I held my leg with my hand I could use the arch of my foot on the break, too.

Waiting to see if I break out inside the casts. If so I might go crazy.

This is why God made Prednisone...

Edit. Another thing that helps with the cast-itch (from personal experience.) Get some of the cans of compressed air used for cleaning lenses and slides, etc. Get one's that have the tube that attaches to the nozzle, like the WD40 cans. Blasting that down into your casts is great.

I'm really sorry to hear about your accident! I have some good stories of similar accidents that happened to me that I would write up and share with you, but I'm too busy having a lot of fun right now doing things that people with two good feet can do. So maybe later.
Meanwhile heel up fast!

Sorry to hear about your accident. Glad it wasn't worse. You are fortunate to have awesome family and friends to help you through this challenging time. Next year..this all will be a story to tell around the campfire. Rest up, listen to your doctors and watch netflex and fo the stuff you can't do because you are too busy running around. You can plan future climbing trips too!

Brilliant write up man. Praying for a fast and full recovery my friend. You are a true gladiator.

This photo made me laugh. It appears that Adam is carrying three full packs and Vitaliy is just sitting on the other side of the stream with no pack, just casually watching him.
Your story will go down in Sequoia Kings Canyon rock climbing lore. That's a fact.

Ha! Sherpa Sheppard was indeed carrying a bunch of stuff, but that was me just chillin' by the river with my feet in the water after they carried me across. Vitaliy took the picture before shouldering his load.

I'm very happy to hear that you didn't break multiple bones in your feet and have to look forward to a long series of surgeries. If they were in bad enough condition the surgeon might have tried talking you into double amputations. This wouldn't have been a good situation. This sounds pretty straight forward, though. All the best with a speedy recovery Limpingcrab!

The big limestone formation above Boyden Cave is called the Matterhunk. Leversee, Laeger, and E.C. Joe climbed the prominent North East Arete. IV 5.10+. Never did it, looks wild though. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a wicked sandbag too, knowing what that crew was up to back then.

North Windy Cliff arete, named "Windy Bluff" was done on July 20, 1954 by Merle Alley and George Sessions. Several pitches of class 4 and 5 up the left hand side of the erete. 5.5 rating. From the old Roper guide.

We repeated this route in about 1989. I remember the crux 5.5 move going over an overhang move to a large incut jug!

Nope, but at least I was wearing pants so my scabs on my knees are only the size of quarters. I spent most of the time scooting on my butt getting a wicked wedgie.

North Windy Cliff arete, named "Windy Bluff" was done on July 20, 1954 by Merle Alley and George Sessions. Several pitches of class 4 and 5 up the left hand side of the erete. 5.5 rating. From the old Roper guide.

We repeated this route in about 1989. I remember the crux 5.5 move going over an overhang move to a large incut jug!

Cool, thanks for the share! Did you go all the way to the true summit on the ridge and do a few rappels or did the route stop at the first summit?

Have you figured out which one is after your wife?

Ha! V and Adam are both spoken for but I'm pretty sure I overheard some talk of sister-wives.

Crab man glad your ok. Hereís were you post now. Take it easy

Won't have much to contribute for a while, but I'll be living vicariously through those posts for sure.

Thanks again everyone. The reality of two months in a wheelchair is setting in and it's quite..... inconvenient

Best to keep it zipped and avoid being violated while you are so vulnerable and cannot easily escape unwanted advances. Get a brass Rubik's cube and keep it handy in the wheel chair. Don't let your associates take you "camping".

In all seriousness, it would be enlightening to inquire as to the associated cost differential, between what you paid out-of-pocket/deductable, what insurance covered, and what additional costs would have accrued had you actually called for a chopper rescue.
A friend had to be Flight-for-Lifed around 35 miles to a Denver emergency hospital after a nasty thirty-foot groundfall off a homemade zipline shattered the pelvis, broke numerous other bones, etc. The bill was about $75,000, just to the door of the hospital, fifteen years or so ago.
Any climber who still goes out without insurance is a fool, and this sort of incident could put young indigent types in real long-term financial straits, and possibly jeopardize their ability to obtain top-level care without rich relatives. Reality checks for all readers, here.

Iíve been wondering about that, AE. I think as long as youíre not totally negligent the ride is covered by the park if youíre in one. We were in national forest so Iím not sure.

G_gnome, no surgery required so thatís good news. One month down and one to go in the wheelchair. Unfortunately my right ankle was crushed into pieces so they said that one will hurt the rest of my life. But I was told the same thing about other injuries so Iím optimistic Iíll be able to continue with type 2 fun. Eventually.

Nut, Iíve pretty much been a waste of space around the house but my wife has been incredibly gracious about it. And my daughter has been taking good care of me.

Very enjoyable read! Sorry Micronut beat you on the scoop. While I've never met Macronut, Vitaliy made an attempt on my life as well. He is a sneaky one and as I passed him while soloing Mt Goode he made me laugh so hard I almost fell off the crux pitch. Thanks to my skill and focus his devious plot was foiled and I am here to tell about it. Bastard!!!

In all seriousness, much respect. Sorry for your pain. I too suffered a broken foot not too many years ago and while my own self extraction wasn't as harrowing as yours, quite, I can honestly say, 'I feel your pain.'

Heal well, as a bit of advice, chew the painkillers, for better effect! while the taste is pretty bad a tumbler of scotch quickly eradicates that.

I am now sitting in a hotel recovering from a minor but rather painful and degrading operation (twenty stitches in my butthole) you have inspired me to tell my own tail of woe in the mountains. Again, much respect, heal fast and well.
Steve

yeah, jail sucks! kidding, Colonoscopy prep made a small roid grow into one the size of Fresno around emergence dump number 38. rather unpleasant. and undignified considering I know most of the nurses who just had to take a look.

Dang Roadie, I don't feel so bad about the wheelchair now, at least I can sit comfortably!

Batrock, it's a Celestron Trailseeker with an 80mm lens. It works really well for the price, and although it's a lot cheaper than the high end stuff it's still at least $300. (Disclaimer, I bought it to look at birds but it's been great to scope rocks I can see from the road)

Thanks Neebee and thetrad, now that I get out more I've been bumping into ST lurkers and other people asking about the recovery so here's a quick update.

Today is the three month mark and theoretically the painfully slow healing calcaneus bones become full strength after three months so both of mine should be strong. They're not the correct shape yet, that takes up to a year of remodeling, but full strength at least. Now it's more work to strengthen all of the soft tissue.

I'm doing everything I can to get better:
-Taking hippie herbal bone supplements/vitamins/placebos/etc...
-Working out every other day
-Yoga with my wife every other day
-Physical therapy as much as I can stand it (thanks to Macronut for the at-home versions)
-fishing a lot
-Trying anything that anyone suggests

Yesterday, to celebrate the three month mark, I took my longest walk yet at 4.6 miles. It took over 3 hours and kicked my butt but it felt pretty good as long as I didn't step on a pebble or small root :)

The goal now is to go from the worst shape of my life to the best shape of my life and I have some tough trips planned for motivation.

I've learned a lot and of course, without my family and the friends that have called and/or visited (even when I was in the shower, Hudon and Micronut), this would have been exponentially more sucky, so thanks to everyone!

And thanks to you all for the comments, advice and concern on here,
-Professor X (that's what my students call me now, but they've been coming early to set up labs so I forgive them)

Today is the three month mark and theoretically the painfully slow healing calcaneus bones become full strength after three months so both of mine should be strong. They're not the correct shape yet, that takes up to a year of remodeling, but full strength at least. Now it's more work to strengthen all of the soft tissue.

I'm doing everything I can to get better:
-Taking hippie herbal bone supplements/vitamins/placebos/etc...
-Working out every other day
-Yoga with my wife every other day
-Physical therapy as much as I can stand it (thanks to Macronut for the at-home versions)
-fishing a lot
-Trying anything that anyone suggests

Yesterday, to celebrate the three month mark, I took my longest walk yet at 4.6 miles. It took over 3 hours and kicked my butt but it felt pretty good as long as I didn't step on a pebble or small root :)

The goal now is to go from the worst shape of my life to the best shape of my life and I have some tough trips planned for motivation.

I've learned a lot and of course, without my family and the friends that have called and/or visited (even when I was in the shower, Hudon and Micronut), this would have been exponentially more sucky, so thanks to everyone!

Missed the follow-ups - hope you're back at it again by now or close to it. I was good enough four months later to send the route I took the dive on (though the whole affair was kinda embarrassing given it's my route...). As for butt-hurt, no, spent the majority of the time on my hands and knees and then doing a face-up crabwalk along the highway to the car so the palms were a bit thrashed as well.

Hey everyone! Good bump timing, I just hit a six month milestone in my recovery. Yesterday, with the help of three legit climbing hardmen (Brian P, Chris K, Chaz), I finished a five day winter ski/splitboard traverse of the Sierra from Wolverton in Sequoia over to Shepherd Pass outside of Independence. I bought extra stiff and supportive snowboard boots and took it as easy as possible. It hurt and Iím still weak but it was still an awesome trip. Iím still trying to avoid any high impact and I have an MRI tomorrow to see how things are healing now that itís been 6 months.

Cole, Iím sorry to hear that, it definitely sucks to break such a painful and slow healing bone. Every situation is different but thereís reason to be optimistic. Chaz, one of the guys on the ski trip, broke both of his calcaneusí and had extensive surgery about 10 years ago. Heís a stud and as active as ever running, skiing and climbing. Itís been 6 months for me and thereís still pain but I think Iím on my way to 100%. The main thing Iíd say is to take it SLOOOOWWWW, do everything you can to heal before getting active again. I know it sucks and feels like forever but the long term gain is definitely worth the short term sacrifice. If itís possible, try to get a doctor or PT that is an outdoor person or at least familiar with it. I seemed to get different prognoses and advice when I got a new doctor that was an athlete and knew he was dealing with someone who wanted to be active in the long run and not just dull the pain and sit on a couch.

My ankle wasn't in particularly good shape before my fall and remains about the same post fall which I can deal with. What is new or lingering is a bit of tingling/neuropathy that started a couple of months after I was basically recovered. It's a bit disconcerting at times though doesn't impair me in any way.

Good to hear it doesnít slow you down, healyje, thatís always the big concern. Pain is one thing, changing activities is another. Iím sure it can be done without effecting quality of life but itís a scary thought.

Sure thing kunlun! I just have a few from my point and shoot, havenít pulled the pics off of my nice camera yet.

I had a rock fall and hit my ankle one time in a canyon. I had to limp and slide my way down waterfalls and boulders for 6 miles. It was a hellish day and one I was glad to end when I got back to the car.